ABSTRACT
Operation Shady RAT (OSR) has been a focused effort for a period of time to compromise computer systems in targeted establishments with the intent of pilfering software source code, government secrets, e-mail archives, document storage systems, and any form of valuable intellectual property. Operation Shady RAT, a title coined by Alperovitch as a take on the computer security industry acronym for Remote Access Tool, is described by McAfee as "a five-year targeted operation by one specific actor." The identity of the attackers is unknown nonetheless, based on one of the methods utilized and the targets that were chosen, various security experts entertain the notion that the Chinese government is responsible for the computer hacks. The operation targeted a wide-ranging field of both public- and private-sector establishments in nearly every nation in Southeast Asia.
